Gov signs SB 67, 69 & Youth Minimum Wage act

Read it and weep. Governor :Dennis Daugaard has signed several of the remaining bills of the legislative session, including the youth minimum wage act, and SB 69, which prevents people from signing on to the ballot to simply serve as placeholders.

Governor Signs Final Bills Of 2015 Legislative Session

PIERRE, S.D. – Gov. Dennis Daugaard signed the last bills from the 2015 Legislative Session into law today:

SB 2 – An Act to provide for the establishment of river basin natural resource districts.
SB 3 – An Act to provide for mediation of certain drainage disputes.
SB 67 – An Act to revise certain provisions regarding challenges to certain election petition signatures.
SB 69 – An Act to revise certain provisions regarding elections and election petitions.
SB 177 – An Act to establish a youth minimum wage.

For more information about these bills, visit legis.sd.gov.

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So, what’s left on the Governor’s Desk? 8 bills to go.

I was looking at the list of bills the Governor signed yesterday (BTW, Thank you for SB 190 Governor), and I decided to wander in the opposite direction and take a look at the bills that are still remaining on his desk for consideration:

Bill Title
SB 2 provide for the establishment of river basin natural resource districts.
SB 3 provide for mediation of certain drainage disputes.
SB 67 revise certain provisions regarding challenges to certain election petition signatures.
SB 69 revise certain provisions regarding elections and election petitions.
SB 100 create a leased residential property classification.
SB 136 exclude certain municipal taxes from the gross receipts used to determine the tax liability for customers served by electric cooperatives and electric utilities.
SB 159 exempt certain amateur sports coaches from sales and use tax.
SB 177 establish a youth minimum wage.

Senate Bills 2 and 3 rework what has been long-standing law with regards to drainage, not to mention SB  setting up new levels of bureaucracy for many areas in the state that weren’t asking for it.  This one is a stumper. I’m not sure where they’re going to fall out.

SB 67 and 69 are the election reform measures as introduced by the Secretary of State and Board of elections, and amended during their passage between the 2 houses of the legislature.  Some of these reforms are badly needed to comply with military voting requirements. Some are needed to fix ‘Bosworth-ian’ petitioning practices. And most of the rest are just common sense fixes.

Are these measures perfect? No. But I suspect the Governor is leaning towards a thumbs up on these, as there are far more reasons to sign them than there are to kill them.

Generally, bills that mess with taxation tend to be subject to the Governor’s red veto pen. Sometimes the veto is overturned, sometimes not. That places SB 100, SB 136, and SB 159 at risk.

And then there’s SB 177, establishing a youth minimum wage.  There are very good arguments for it, but I think given that the change is so close to the vote taken last November, and lacking hard data in terms of how it has been implemented in South Dakota, he may kill this one too.

At the very least, these have the attention of the Governor’s office, enough that they’re doing further research before they make a decision.

Salon Article: FEMA won’t give money to states who don’t accept ‘climate change’

From Salon:

Rick Scott may have found a way of making climate denial state policy, but the Florida governor is going to have a hard time ignoring this. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) just updated its guidelines for state disaster preparedness plans, and under the new policy, plans will only be approved — and federal funds appropriated —  if they address the threats of climate change.

“The challenges posed by climate change, such as more intense storms, frequent heavy precipitation, heat waves, drought, extreme flooding, and higher sea levels, could significantly alter the types and magnitudes of hazards impacting states in the future,” the guidelines explain. They direct states to”assess vulnerability, identify a strategy to guide decisions and investments, and implement actions that will reduce risk, including impacts from a changing climate.”

Read it here.

I’m thinking the next Republican President is going to have a heck of a job cleaning out the US Government.

SDDP Files March Monthly FEC Report. 37% of SDDP receipts came straight from the DNC

Well, the latest FEC Report is in from the Democrats. What’s new?

It looks like Zach Crago might have finally been weaned off of the payroll (At least the federal one), but the Democrats are still hugely dependent upon the national party to keep the doors open.

Democrat March20 FEC

Out of $19,240 in receipts, $7,026 came from the Democrat National Committee – 37%! That does not bode well for the SDDP, especially if they are suddenly cut off.

Stay tuned.

Lee Stranahan, and the manufactured attack narrative against Marty Jackley.

stranahan_advI’m on Facebook recently, and I had the following sponsored ad pop up, promoting yet another ridiculous article by former sado/masochism pornography photographer Lee Stranahan, as he continues promoting a campaign against South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley.

This of course came on the heels of a press conference Stranahan held in Washington accusing Jackley of “criminal wrongdoing,” which was ignored with the exact same level of blasé by the Washington DC Area press that South Dakota Reporters previously have had for Stranahan’s silliness.

As you’ll notice in the ad on the left, it talks about how “Marty Jackley’s prosecutors” did this or that. But, that’s not exactly truthful.

In this case, they weren’t “Marty Jackley’s” prosecutors. In any way, shape, or form. They were State Attorneys, elected by the people of their county, and completely independent of the Attorney General.

But that’s pretty typical, and stands as one of the biggest problems with the “news stories” that Lee Stranahan has produced as he throws out stories accusing Jackley. They ignore glaring errors, and play up speculation of things that aren’t known at all.

It’s unclear why exactly Stranahan continues his pursuit, making outlandish accusations against South Dakota state & county prosecutors, and the Judiciary in what he characterizes as a scandal. After serving as a paid Annette Bosworth campaign consultant, and contributing to what most would consider a glorious mucking up of her criminal case, his antics caused at least one of her several attorneys to demand he cease association with Bosworth.

Yet, the silliness continued. And still does.

Stranahan’s storied past, including allegations of scams, cons, and other undesirable acts, don’t exactly paint him as a reliable source of news. Not only that, but as we saw with Bosworth, he has a tendency to harm those he claims to champion.  In fact, given that there have been a series of sponsored facebook ads, it leaves one with a sense of wondering who exactly is paying money to promote the messages?    And why?

Unfortunately, a lot of Stranahan’s antics do a grave disservice to a lot of things, including the truth.

First and foremost, many of these stories (and I use that term in a couple of definitions) are expressly and specifically directed at the Attorney General Marty Jackley. Despite the fact that Marty is peripheral, at best, to the matter that Stranahan goes on about, and didn’t prosecute the case.

What we do know conclusively is that Marty was one of the people stuck dealing with the aftermath.

As Attorney General, Marty Jackley is in charge of DCI, or the Division of Criminal Investigation. The Division of Criminal Investigation in South Dakota is often called in to provide specific expertise that many local law enforcement agencies aren’t able to supply themselves, and Special Agents conduct investigations on major felony cases, as they did in the case of the matter of the Mette investigation.

The investigation in the matter of the Mette family and the abuse of foster children at some point seems to have taken a sour turn, and while never indicated publicly, it seems that several things happened in the conduct of the investigation. Things that we can guess prosecutors thought could cost them the ability to pursue it.

The investigation involved issues of horrific child abuse, a type of case that is well noted among experts in law enforcement to be among the most difficult kinds of cases to work with.  As the FBI notes:

“Traditional law enforcement interviewing methods used in typical adult cases are counterproductive when it comes to child victims or witnesses to crimes,” said Stephanie Knapp, one of the Bureau’s four child forensic interviewers. “Sometimes you see unsuccessful outcomes in cases because of poor interview techniques. In many cases of child abuse, for example, where the victim is the only witness, the interview may be a critical element of the investigation.”

And..

Although they follow time-tested protocols, interviewers acknowledge that working with children is an art as well as a science, requiring experience and intuition. “You have to understand and follow the protocols,” Blackwell said, “but it’s also essential that you connect with the kids so that they trust you.”

Read that here.

Investigators and child advocates came into the case, and after a short time were accused of possibly coaching the children on what to say. Into this scenario came DCI investigator Mark Black, who claimed to both interview the children involved, as well as to investigate accusations of witness tampering. And the ambiguity coming out of what happened here seems to be the focus of much of the rhetoric that Stranahan is trying to twist and gin up in his mindless pursuit of Jackley, because much of “what happened” is not public.

Why? Because it involves underage crime victims. It involves personnel matters. And in either case, there’s not much that’s ever going to come to light.

But once in a while you get a hint dropped along the way like a breadcrumb. As noted by the Argus Leader in 2014 with regards to the 2012 case:

Jackley said he had asked North Dakota investigators to look into Black’s behavior in late February, but that the agent’s questionable behavior extended beyond the high-profile case of former advocate Shirley Schwab and former prosecutor Brandon Taliaferro.

By February, Black was accused of domestic abuse by his ex-wife, who took out a temporary protection order against him early this year. The order was not made permanent, but a hearing outlining accusations from Black’s ex-wife was held March 13. The temporary order was extended for 10 days and dismissed March 24.

By then, Black had been terminated.

“I think it’s fair to say that (the witness tampering investigation) was a factor,” Jackley said Friday. “If you were to ask about the protection order issues, I would say that was a factor, too. It was the totality of the circumstances.”

Read it all here.

In addition to what happened with Mark Black, Michael Moore the Beadle County state’s attorney prosecuting the matter had brought witness tampering charges against others involved in the case, which were later dismissed for lack of evidence.

We have an investigator accused of questionable behavior, partially in connection with the case. We have others whose conduct in the matter which had been brought into question. And on top of it all, the crime involves children who may or may not have been willing to take the stand, as well as possibly being the only witnesses in the case.

That seems to leave prosecutors in the unenviable position of trying to figure out what’s left to build a criminal case from to accomplish the ultimate goal – to put a bad, bad person in jail for as long as they could.

Richard Mette, the perpetrator in the sexual abuse case ended up getting a plea agreement of 15 years in prison, which might seem light to some. But in an investigation that apparently was experiencing evidentiary problems as this one did, sometimes a prosecutor – in this case, Michael Moore – is forced to move forward and procure the best deal they could. And we ended up with the 15-year plea agreement.

What really happened to cause problems with the case is arguably something we’ll never know. But as noted, what we do know is that – far from the wild accusations that Lee Stranahan makes of ridiculous grand conspiracies of abuse of power and corruption – the State’s attorney put the bad guy in jail, as best he could with what he had to work with. And, as the person responsible for DCI, Jackley was left to clean up an ugly mess contributed to by one if it’s agents, which was cited by the AG as part of the reason for the agents termination.

Lacking conclusive proof as to exactly what happened, anything else is just what those with overly fertile imaginations want to plant as their narrative, with sponsored facebook links and all.

It’s especially telling that in all of the weaving of this fairy tale by Lee Stranahan, all along the path, Stranahan’s smearing and false narrative of Marty Jackley doing bad things is constantly tied back to his prosecution of Annette Bosworth for fraudulently attesting to witnessing petition signatures.

It was in the beginning. And it continues to be to this day.

We can only hope that when the Bosworth trial happens in May that the silliness, and the sponsored facebook ads, finally go away.

As Lee Stranahan should.

Thune and Nelson Introduce Bipartisan Freight Rail Reform Bill

Thune and Nelson Introduce Bipartisan Freight Rail Reform Bill
-Legislation scheduled for Commerce Committee mark-up next week-

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) and U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), who respectively serve as the chairman and ranking member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, today introduced S. 808, the Surface Transportation Board (STB) Reauthorization Act of 2015.

The STB is the federal regulatory body responsible for economic oversight of the nation’s freight rail system. Run by a three-member, bipartisan board, the agency has regulatory jurisdiction over railroad rate reasonableness, mergers, line acquisitions, new rail-line construction, line abandonment, and other rail issues. The STB was created by Congress in 1996 as the successor to the Interstate Commerce Commission. Since that time, the STB has not been reauthorized or substantively reformed.

“While the STB has been working diligently to ensure the major rail service issues experienced last year by shippers and businesses in South Dakota and other states across the U.S. don’t happen again, last year’s crisis highlighted some of the inefficiencies that currently exist at the agency,” said Thune. “Oversight efforts have identified causes of wasteful and unnecessary delays in adjudicating cases that harm rail shippers, freight operators, and ultimately consumers who pay higher costs. These reforms will help make the STB a more efficient, effective, and accountable agency for the benefit of shippers and railroads alike.”

Thune and Nelson’s bill would allow board members to work together in a more streamlined approach. Their bill would expand the STB board membership from three to five members, and allow for board members to discuss pending matters without issuing a public meeting notice, but with later public disclosure. The bill would also allow the board to initiate some investigations, not just respond to complaints, and would require the STB to establish a database of complaints and prepare quarterly reports on them.

Thune and Nelson’s bill would also change the case review process by requiring the board to establish timelines for stand-alone rate cases and a report on rate case methodology. The bill would codify an arbitration process for certain rate disputes and carrier complaints.

The STB reform bill expands on the work Thune has done over the past year and a half to prevent the rail service challenges experienced in the Upper Midwest in 2013 and 2014 from happening in the future. Thune has worked with the STB, as well as senior leadership of Canadian Pacific Railway and BNSF Railroad, to address service issues that South Dakota shippers have raised.

Thune serves on both the Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee which has jurisdiction over our nation’s freight and passenger railroads, as well as the Senate Agriculture Committee. In addition, Thune previously served as State Railroad Director under former Governor George S. Mickelson from 1991-1993. For a complete outline of Thune’s work to reduce the rail service backlog, visit his website.

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The EPA doesn’t just want to regulate your ditch water. They’re coming for your T-Bones and Pork Shoulders as well.

snppIf you’re a reader of more than a few months, you might remember I’m an aficionado of backyard grilling.  Pictured at the left is my Brinkman Smoke ‘N Pit Professional, a.k.a., the SNPP as it’s known in the grilling community. It was my first father’s day present, and has been used regularly ever since.

With the offset box, it’s great for smoking meat, but I tend to use it more for grilling, preferring my electric smoker simply for convenience, because if you’re smoking a pork shoulder all day in a charcoal/wood grill, you just have to fuss with it too much.

Regardless, I repaint, refurbish and do regular maintenance on my grill, because you can’t get them with as heavy gauge of steel as this anymore unless you have someone make you one out of a tank. I’m probably due to have some welding work done on the legs, with the only problem being how tremendously heavy it is to move – definitely a 2 man job.

Ok, admittedly, I’m going on a bit. As you can see, I’m like a number of average Joe’s in the nation who actively enjoy their grilling, and it’s a center of many family meals when weather allows.  So, it’s tremendously disconcerting to see that the Environmental Protection Agency is overstepping the bounds of common sense, once again, as they begin initial steps to start pursuing “pollution” from backyard barbecues:

The Environmental Protection Agency has its eyes on pollution from backyard barbecues.

The agency announced that it is funding a University of California project to limit emissions resulting in grease drippings with a special tray to catch them and a “catalytic” filtration system.

The $15,000 project has the “potential for global application,” said the school.

and…

The school is proposing two fixes to reduce emissions from barbecues. First, they want to cut back on grease flare-ups. The idea: “A slotted and corrugated tray is inserted immediately prior to meat flipping, and removed immediately after. This short contact time prevents the tray from over-heating and volatilizing the collected grease. This collected grease will then drip off into a collection tray and can be used at the pit master’s discretion.”

But, total capture isn’t “practical,” so a filter and fan are proposed for installation. “The secondary air filtration system is composed of a single pipe duct system which contains a specialized metal filter, a metal fan blade, a drive shaft, and an accompanying power system with either a motorized or manual method. This system can be powered by either an exterior electric motor with a chain-driven drive shaft, directly spinning the fan blade, or a hand-powered crank,” said the project write-up.

Read it all here.

Our representatives in Washington are already having to fight the EPA to keep them from regulating water in rural ditches as being a navigable body of water.   Now we have to also ask them to keep the EPA away from our lawn mowers and backyard grills?

This type of bureaucratic overreach is why average everyday citizens of the United States are rejecting the policies of Democrats, and soft-headed liberals in general. They aren’t happy unless they’re meddling in people’s everyday lives.

And now they’re moving to install filters and fans in backyard barbecues?  God help us all.

Noem Introduces Legislation Offering More Flexibility for Local School Meal Programs

Noem Introduces Legislation Offering More Flexibility for Local School Meal Programs

kristi noem headshot May 21 2014WASHINGTON, D.C. – Rep. Kristi Noem today introduced legislation that aims to reduce federal mandates on school meal standards, including the more stringent whole grain requirements that went into effect in July 2014 and the Target 2 sodium requirements set to be implemented in the coming years.

“As a parent, I want nothing more than for my kids to grow up happy and healthy,” said Rep. Noem.  “Unfortunately, current school meal requirements push all kids – and all schools – into a one-size-fits-all model.  The declining number of kids in the school lunch program shows that it’s not working.  Our kids deserve better.  They deserve a school meal program that is rooted in science-based nutrition plans – a program that includes food that they’re actually going to eat.  My bill gives schools the flexibility to accomplish that.”

Rep. Noem introduced her initial Reducing Federal Mandates on School Lunch Act in December 2013.  The latest version of the bill includes new provisions to address concerns with the Target 2 sodium levels and whole grain requirements.

“Everyone in this debate shares a common goal.  We want our kids to be served healthy and nutritious foods through the school lunch program,” said Neil Putnam, a member of the Mitchell School Board and the Western Region Director for the National School Board Association.  “The  issue comes when federal mandates sometimes divert scarce financial resources from a school’s instructional program.  I am grateful to Rep. Noem for introducing legislation that maintains the goal of healthy meals, but does it in a way that gives school districts, like Mitchell, the flexibility and affordability to make decisions on the local level that are best for our students’ overall success.”

The Reducing Federal Mandates on School Lunch Act, which has been endorsed by the National School Board Association and the School Superintendents Association, would:

  • Allow schools to maintain the previous whole grain requirements.  Without this change, 100 percent of the grains that schools would be required to serve students would be whole-grain rich, pushing items like tortillas and pasta largely off the menu.  Rep. Noem’s bill would restore the requirement back to 50 percent, meaning at least half of the grains served would be required to be whole-grain rich.
  • Maintain Target 1 sodium requirements.  Absent a change, schools would have a difficult time serving healthy foods that include milk, cheese, meat and other foods with naturally occurring sodium.
  • Give administrators flexibility on some of the rules that have increased costs for school districts, including the school breakfast program, a la carte options, and school lunch price increases.
  • Make the USDA’s easing of the meat and grain requirements permanent through law, rather than regulations.  This would give certainty to schools that they’ll be allowed more flexibility in serving meats and grains while still staying within calorie maximums.

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